The two men own the construction company Rusalians Stroy, which in 2014 won the multi-billion rubles tender. Up to 3.2 billion rubles of state money was transferred to the company as advance payment. A lion’s share of that money was subsequently stolen by Dmitry Bushmanov and Aleksey Ekkert, prosecutors say.

No guilty plea

According to newspaper Kommersant, a big number of additional cases against Rusalians Stroy have been filed during the last years.

Still, none of the men have pleaded guilty, and in a court hearing last week they won a partial victory when the judge decided that the case will be returned to the general prosecutor for further assessment. According to the judge, several law violations had been made during the investigation, Kommersant reports.

Ekkert and Bushmanov have been behind bars since early 2016.

Numerous projects

Both men have close connection with state apparatus. Aleksey Ekkert before 2009 worked in the Ministry of Defence. He has also worked in the regional administration of Nenets Autonomous Okrug and oil company Rosneft.

The case against Rusalians Stroy comes as Russia has invested big sums in the construction and upgrade of Arctic military bases.

By early 2017, about 1,000 workers were busy building more than 100 military objects in five Russian Arctic archipelagos. All objects were originally to be completed in the course of 2017.

Among them are 30 buildings and facilities on Alexandra Island, the base in Franz Josef Land. A similar number of objects are erected on the island of Wrangle and in Cape Shmidt, the two far eastern bases.

New technical positions and social infrastructure have been under construction also in Rogachevo, the military base on Novaya Zemlya.

The base of Kotelny in the New Siberian Island was reportedly ready to be handed over to the Northern Fleet already in mid-December 2016. Included in that project is the upgraded Temp airfield and the 12,000 square meter big trefoil-shaped Severny Klever housing and administration complex.

In April 2017, the 14,000 square meters military complex at the Nagurskoye base on Aleksandra Land, the northernmost of the islands of Franz Josef Land, was completed and ready for use.

The United States Board on Geographic Names set the spelling as “Wrangell Island” with two letter l’s on 29 July 1901.

Wrangell Island was annexed for the United States Government on 12 August 1881 by 3rd Lt. William Edward Reynolds, USRM, on a sua sponte order of Captain Calvin L. Hooper, USRM. It was annexed under the name of “New Columbia Land”.

Hooper became the first Arctic Adviser at the US Department of State, effective 1 November 1895, under a detail order from Senior Captain Charles Shoemaker, USRCS. Reynolds became the first Rear Admiral of the United States Coast Guard.

On 17 May 1884, Wrangell Island, entered the District of Alaska, under the pen of the attorney for the Alaska board at the United States Department of the Treasury, viz.,,
Major Ezra W. Clark.